Images from a life of silence, part 2

These images [above] are from Essex County Trilogy, a series of graphic novels by Jeff Lemire. Jeff grew up in a tiny town in the farmlands of Canada.

Now, this image is by James Castle. He grew up in a tiny town in the farmlands of Idaho in the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. The similarities of their upbringings may end there. I've met Jeff Lemire and he is as articulate in life as he is on the page. James Castle never aquired language in any ususal since of the word. Read his biography by clicking on the article from the Wall Street Journal at the top of this post. He would have never seen a cell phone tower, the modern object that most resembles the mysterious structures in this drawing. His loving yet lonely depictions of his world seem to come from the same human space as Jeff's. I think in the past I would have called that human space a 'spiritual narrative' or something, but Castle had no knowledge of narratives. Try to imagine taming, containing, and cataloging these visions without words or any personal experience of them.

Imagine being seduced by a blank piece of paper. Probably the one other thing these two had in common.